


Each Troubling Part of My Faithful Heart

by Tabithian



Series: Soft as the Starlight in the Sky [5]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 18:44:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5138555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabithian/pseuds/Tabithian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing about magic and Gotham, is that mixing the two is just asking for trouble. Big trouble, like the kind that could level cities, or just a small section of it, if you're very, very lucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Each Troubling Part of My Faithful Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Themandylion asked for first kiss or Tim saving Jason's beribboned ass from certain doom in the [Soft as the Starlight in the Sky](http://archiveofourown.org/series/291731) AU. (Sorry for the lack of sparkles! :( )
> 
>  
> 
> Takes place shortly after the events in [Every Night the Same Encore](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4394246). (The rest of the Bats know Jason is a magical girl now, a fact Jason deeply regrets. :D)

The thing about magic and Gotham, is that mixing the two is just asking for trouble. Big trouble, like the kind that could level cities, or just a small section of it, if you're very, very lucky. 

Either way, not great, really.

“Jason!”

And there's Tim, scrambling over the rubble, little patches of fire, because he's a goddamned moron. Dick's not that far behind him, and Jason's pretty sure Bruce is making his way across the city punching,through whatever gets in his way like the remnants of the latest shadow-guy throw-down. God willing, Batgirl and Robin are keeping up, and keeping anything else off his back because Bruce - 

Wow, yeah. Bruce has issues when it comes to Jason being back.

Shocker, really, given everything.

 _Reckless,_ Mr. Meowface says, nudging the side of Jason's face with his own, trying to get him to get up out of the little crater he's in. All cracked pavement and smoldering embers, little bits of ash flying through the air. _Stupid._

Jason groans, tries to push the stupid cat away from him because he feels _broken_ , like a child's toy that's carelessly been tossed aside, limbs splayed every which way.

He's actually pretty sure there are broken bones in there, the way his leg is twisted, and also, the way breathing just isn't a whole lot of fun at the moment.

“Bite me,” he says, eyes opening to slits when he feels Mr. Meowface's amusement in his head because he's the kind of asshole who really would bite Jason. “It's a figure of speech, you asshole.”

Mr. Meowface _hmms_ , but Jason's not really in any condition to do anything about it, which the bastard knows.

Jason turns his head when he hears Tim's voice, thread of fear in it that wasn't present the first time. Fear yes, but the kind Tim's had to learn through watching one or more of his weird vigilante family risking life and limb on a nightly basis, that's old, familiar in the worst kind of way, Jason knows.

This?

This is something different.

Mr. Meowface hisses, eyes flaring gold as he throws himself over Jason, claws pricking through the tattered remains of his jacket, and sad little shreds of the ribbons off the damn suit tossed around by the wind.

“Well, shit,” Jason mutters, as pebbles and debris skitter down around him, and a low crooning rumble reaches his ears. “This can't be good.”

Jason can feel the cold stealing in, sucking the heat, warmth from the area around him. Watches the sullen red-orange glow from the twisted metal beam and rods, rocks around him vanish, turn gray-white, frost starting to form over them. Fire flickering out like a snuffed candle.

“You might want to move,” Jason says, tries to sit up. Mr. Meowface isn't budging, claws digging in when Jason shifts, flare of pain and hissed, _"motherfucker,"_ from Jason.

Tim's still yelling, and now Dick is too, trying to get Tim to slow the fuck down, probably, but the little shit isn't listening. 

Jason turns his head and sees that huge fucking lizard-thing from earlier limping through the rubble. He'd taken to thinking of her as Momma with the size of her, and the way the smaller lizard-things responded to her.

She's dying, Jason can see that much, hurt too badly to make it but she's still moving. He watches as she stops to nose at the burnt husk of one of the lizard-things, and whines as she sees the others, scattered and broken.

Jason stares when he realizes she's mourning them, even though she'd been the one sending them up against Jason, snapping and snarling and utterly terrifying like a an angry bear.

Now she's a walking wound, burned, charred, bone showing through in places and holy fuck, this is worse than horrifying.

“Shit,” Jason says, barely a whisper as she lifts her head and looks in his direction. “Shit, shit, shit.”

Mr, Meowface hisses, flattening himself against Jason's chest, and this would be touching, really, if it wasn't so goddamned stupid of the little bastard.

“Jason!”

Momma snarls, whatever the lizard-things have for blood welling up as the skin around her muzzle splits open, coloring her fangs a vivid red.

Tim skids to a stop on the other side of the crater, Dick a blur behind him and Jason watches as Tim brings his gun up, Momma tensing to leap for him.

“You stupid bastard!” Jason howls, struggling to get up, but the fucking cat is doing something, because Jason can't _move_.

Tim's eyes drop to Jason for one brief moment, and the little shit smiles, little, _Look at how fucking stupid I am!_ and then he's back to staring Momma down.

Jason's drawing breath to yell at him again when Tim fires, one-two-three in rapid successions – and the little shit's always had good aim.

Jason see the bullets strike home, hears Mr. Meowface's little sigh of relief, but Momma was in the air when Tim shot her. Claws extended to rend, kill, and even though she's already dead, she's fucking huge, and there's a lot of momentum to her now.

Mr. Meowface snarls, darting towards Tim like he can do anything to help - 

But Dick's there, slamming into Tim from the side to send the two of them rolling as Momma's body hits the ground, impact something Jason can _feel_.

Silence, the kind that follows a fight like the one that did its best to turn Gotham into a pile of smoking rubble, and then - 

A little flare of concern, worry, quickly replaced by something like relief for a split-second before irritation takes over and Mr. Meowface's growled, _Humans._

Dick's voice, snap to it before another fall of pebbles and rock and Jason looks up to see Tim's face looking down at him, tremulous smile on his face.

“You stupid bastard,” Jason says, and it's supposed to be angry, furious, but all it manages to do is sound so fucking relieved. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Tim laughs, and then he's making his way down to where Jason is.

“Hey,” Jason says, when Tim reaches him, and just stares, hands hovering like he doesn't know what to do with them. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

Smart enough not to put on a cape and tights, but apparently still stupid enough to learn their bad habits.

Tim laughs again, this ragged thing that has Jason reaching up snag the front of his shirt and tug him closer, going for a hug, or the best he can manage at the moment.

Tim's Tim, though, and plants a hand beside Jason's head, faint smile on his lips. 

“You're hurt,” Tim says, and stays there, leaning over Jason with a worried frown taking over his face as he gets a good look at Jason.

“So fucking stupid,” Jason mutters, and doesn't know if he's talking about Tim, or himself. The goddamned cat, maybe, who the hell knows.

“I learned from the best,” Tim says, slight wobble to his voice, and oh, oh, the idiot's going to crash soon.

Adrenaline and fear and days running on fumes helping Jason figure this latest magical crisis out while trying to keep everyone else out of the whole mess. (Fat lot of good that did them in the end, although considering Dick just saved Tim's life, Jason's not going to dwell on that too much. Or, you know, at all.)

Jason sighs, looking up at Tim bowed over him, Jason's hand tangled in his shirt. They're both hurting, and there's absolutely no doubt in Jason's mind that the two of them are in for endless lectures and disappointed looks from the rest of their ragtag family, but.

“You should demand a refund,” Jason says, smiles a little when Tim laughs, little huff of air. “Sounds like you had shitty teachers.”

No way in hell did Tim learn to be this stupid just from Jason. Team effort and all that bullshit Dick's always harping on about.

Tim makes a humming noise, tugging Jason's hand free from his shirt to lace their fingers together, sagging against a chunk pavement while they wait for Bruce and the others to descend on them.

Dick leans over the edge of the crater to make sure they're still alive, annoyed look on his face, hand pressed to his ear like he's listening to someone. Probably Barbara, maybe Bruce, going by the look on his face Jason saw.

“Oh, I don't know,” Tim says, giving Jason's hand a little squeeze. “They have their moments.”


End file.
